Rotary floor polishing machine having horizontally positioned motor



March 20, 1951 J P sTElBEL 2,545,635

ROTARY FLOOR POLISHING MACHINE HAVING HORIZONTALLY POSITIONED MOTORFiled April 17, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR James P Sfei be! March20, 1951 J. P. STEIBEL 2,545,635

' ROTARY FLOOR POLISHING MACHINE HAVING HORIZONTALLY POSITIONED MOTOR 2Sheets-Sheet 2 a. III,

1 I I I I I l l I n A INVENTOR James P. Sfeibel Patented Mar. 20, 1951ROTARY FLOOR POLISHING MACHINE HAV- ING HORIZQNTALLY POSITIONED MOTORJames P. Steibel, Racine, Wis., assignor, by mesne assignments, to S. C.Johnson & Son, Inc., Racine, Wis., a corporation of WisconsinApplication April 17, 1948, Serial No. 21,594

1 Claim.

U. S. Patent NO. 1,588,157 to Beach. While large floor polishingmachines have been designed using a rotary brush, as faras known, nomachine ,using a small rotary brush, such as an eight inch diameterbrush, has been used commercially. Former attempts to design asatisfactory small rotary brush floor polisher were unsuccessful becausewhen the brush was driven, a gyrating mo- .tion developed, with a buildup of an oscillating.

movement sothat difiiculty was experienced keeping the brush on thefloor and in maintaining control of the machine. It was found that thehigher the motor was mounted or positioned above the floor, the moresevere was the gyrating and oscillating motion.

It is therefore a primary object of my invention to provide an improvedlightweight rotary brush polisher wherein the bottom of the motor ispositioned below the top of the brush so that the center of gravity ofthe machine is lowered sufficiently close to the floor to minimize thegyrating and oscillating movement of the machine during operation andincluding novel details of construction.

Another object of myinvention is to provide a lightweight rotary brushfloor polisher provided with a manually operated tensioning means foradjusting the tension of a drive belt, to keep it taut.

Another object of my invention is to provide an eflicient lightweightrotary brush polisher which can be manufactured economically. A furtherobject is generally to simplify and improve the construction,arrangement and operation of polishers for one or more of the purposesmentioned, and still other objects will be apparent from thespecification.

The invention includes the construction and arrangement of parts asherein illustrated, described and claimed and, since variousmodifications thereof are contemplated, it will be understood that theinvention also includes such modifications as are equivalent to theclaim.

Fig. 1 is a. perspective view of the rotary floor polisher.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view showing the casing and gear housing insection.

Fig. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken along line 5-5 of Fig. 2and showing the motor in side elevation.

Fig. 4 is a detailed cross-sectional view taken along line 65 of Fig. 2.m Fig. 5 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken along line I- -'I ofFig. 2 showing the motor in elevation. I Discussing now in detail thenovel combination which makes up the improved rotary brush polisher, thecenter of a'small rotary brush I0.

\ for example, a rotary brush with an 8 outside The same referencecharacters have been used for the designation of like parts throughoutand in the drawings.

diameter is cut out to about 6" inside diameter, leaving 2 of bristlesaround the outside diameter. A motor support II, which may convenientlybe made in the shape of a cup or dished portion with flanged outsideportion I2, is preferably made of metal because of the importance ofconcentrating weight at a low level in the polisher which helpsstabilize the machine. The motor support I I acts both as a support forthe motor I3 and as a base for the brush I 0. The bottom of the dishedportion of the motor support I I is positioned as close to the floor aspractical, but it is preferable to leave at least one-half inch to allowfor wearing of the brush bristles I4 before replacement of the rotarybrush is necessary. It is to be understood that this describes o-nlyoneform of the combined brush and motor support, as this complete elementmay also be made in one piece, if desired.

A cylindrical pivot plug I5, perferably of steel, having a spun orflanged end I6 is centered on and affixed to the inside of the bottomwall of the dished portion of motor support I I, for example, by meansof a plurality of screws II. If desired, a small boss I8 may projectfrom the center of the pivot plug I5 to act as a convenient centeringmeans for easy assembly of the plug to the motor support II. The outerrace of a ball bearing I9 is secured to the motor housing 20 by screws2|, and the motor housing 20 and ball bearing are fitted over the pivotplug I5. Thus the motor I3 is centered and held firmly in position bymeans of the pivot plug I5 while being supported by the bottom wall ofthe motor support I I, preferably about one-half inch from the floor.

A worm gear housing 22 is detachably mounted on the motor housing 29 bymeans of a plurality of screws 23. The gear shaft 24 is supported in theworm gear housing 22 by bearing 25.

The driving means is a conventional right angle worm gear 26 and wormwheel 2! with a sheave or pulley 28 fixed to the worm wheel shaft. Abelt 29 is trained around the pulley 28 and around the outside periphery30 of the motor support 1 l in a peripheral groove therein provided forthat purpose. As a tensioning means, the pulley 28 is comprised of twoconoid-shaped discs 3! which may be relatively axially moved toward eachother by means of an adjusting nut 32, positioned below the lower discand threaded to the worm wheel shaft. However, if desired, tensioningmeans may be eliminated providing a belt is used of material whichrequires no adjustment to keep it taut. The top of the brush i serves asthe lower flange 33 of a belt groove to engage the bot-' tom edge of thebelt 29 while the remainder of said groove is defined by upwardly andoutwardly extending flanges on the support 1 i, as clearly shown inFigs. 3 and 5 of the drawings. The brush I0 is secured to the motorsupport H by means of a plurality of clips 34 held in place by means ofscrews 35. The brush [9 is thus driven inrotation through its attachmentto the motor support H, which in turn is driven by means of the belt 29.

A bail 36 may be attached to pivot trunnions 3! which are preferablypositioned equidistant from the center line of the motor l3 and soarranged as to bring the handle 38 in line with the axis of symmetry ofthe machine. However, the pivot trunnions 31 may be positioned elsewherein the assembly if desired.

The assembly is provided with a casing or hood 39 which is secured tothe motor 13 by means of a plurality of screws 49 engaging motor lugs4|, formed on the motor housing 20 and recesses 42 formed in the hood39. Fig. 5 illustrates the casing 39 in position, and also shows thebail 36 attached to the pivot trunnions 37.

From the foregoing description it can be seen that the objects of thisinvention have been accomplished in this novel rotary brush polisher. Byproviding means for mounting the motor whereby the bottom is closer tothe floor than the top of the rotary brush, the resulting machine hasbeen found to minimize and practically eliminate the heretoforeexcessive gyrating and oscillating movements resulting from operation ofprevious small rotary polishers. This machine has provided a long feltneed in the art of floor polishing machines, providing the housewifewith a compact, attractive and efficient rotary floor polisher.

Many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention may bemade without departing from the principle, breadth and spirit thereof,

4 and it is to be understood, therefore, that this invention is notlimited to the specific embodiments herein disclosed except as solimited by the following claim:

I claim:

A rotary floor polishing machine comprising, a motor having a housingand a horizontally extending shaft, a rotary structure journalled onsaid motor housing at the bottom thereof for rotation on a verticalaxis, said rotary structure having portions extending upwardly outwardlyof the sides of said motor housing to a level above the bottom thereof,an annular brush arranged concentrically about said axis and secured tosaid upwardly extending portions above the bottom of said motor housing,said brush having bristles extending downwardly from an upper levelabove the bottom of said rotary structure to a level below said motorand rotary structure and outwardly of the latter, and drive meansconnecting said horizontal shaft and rotary structure radially outwardlyof said motor and above the said bottom of said motor, said upwardlyextending portions of said rotary structure terminating in an outwardlyextending flange overlying the top surface of said annular brush, thesaid flange having a'portion spaced from the said top surface anddefining therewith a peripheral groove to receive a drive beltconstituting an element of said drive means.

JAMES P. .STEIBEL.

REFERENCES CITED The following referencesare of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 990,506 Strange Apr. 25, 19111,491,790 Cushman Apr. 28, 1924 1,609,508 Cavicchi Dec. 7, 19261,650,690 Cavicchi Nov. 29, 1927 1,934,088 Ponselle Nov. 7, 19332,079,946 Myers May 11,1937 2,113,475 Faber Apr. 5, 1938 2,142,697 MyersJan. 3, 1939 2,252,269 McQuown Aug. 12, 1941 2,268,015 Broberg Dec. 30,1941 2,297,209 Geduhn Sept. 29, 1942 2,316,805 Overholser Apr. 20, 19432,359,223 Kitto Sept. 26, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date254,041 Italy July 11, 1927 285,489

Great Britain June 21, 1928

